Application of 6H to 4H Polytype Conversion to Effective Reduction of Micropipes in 4H SiC Crystals

Abstract

Bulk crystals of 6H and 4H silicon carbide have been grown by PVT method. 6H-SiC were obtained in optimized near-to-equilibrium growth conditions in order to improve the crystal quality and to provide the 6H seeds for 6H to 4H-SiC conversion. In experiments of 6H to 4H polytype transformation a set of invariable growth conditions was applied: C-face seed, C-rich atmosphere, on-axis seed orientation, pre-heating of the source material, slightly convex crystallization front and optimized geometry of the growth system. Other growth parameters were varied to optimize the polytype conversion, e.g.: structural quality of the seed, intentionally added impurity (N and/or Sc), initial growth stage recipe, argon pressure and temperature gradient - resulting in variety of growth rates and temperatures of the seed. Special attention was paid to seed passivation and a scheme of temperature and inert gas pressure changes during growth. Crystals were characterized by KOH etching, X-ray diffraction, optical and AFM microscopy. A reproducible method of 75% efficient conversion was elaborated. A large central surface free of micropipes was observed with characteristic six symmetrical ridges as well as the increased concentration of nitrogen. The parasitic 15R-SiC polytype was nucleated on the vicinal part of the crystallization front of 6H-SiC and 4H-SiC crystals.